Women's Lacrosse Travels to Columbia for Final Conference Game

Story Line
Harvard travels to Columbia for its last conference game of the
season Saturday at 1 p.m. The Crimson is mathematically alive in
the race for the fourth seed in the inaugural Ivy League Women's
Lacrosse Tournament and need a win Saturday to keep it that way.

Last Time Out
Harvard pulled to within one goal late to the second half before
falling to No. 7 Dartmouth, 11-9, Wednesday afternoon at Harvard
Stadium. Freshman Micaela Cyr had two goals, an assist and
won five draw controls for the Crimson.

Cyr was one of four Crimson players to find the back of the net
twice in the game as classmates Danielle Tetreault and Jennifer
VanderMeulen and sophomore Melanie Baskind each had a pair of
goals. Second-year Tyler Petropulos also scored for the
Crimson, while senior co-captain Sara Flood contributed an assist.

Scouting Report
Harvard (6-7, 2-4 Ivy), who has won two of its last three games,
heads out on the road for the first time since April 5.

Jennifer VanderMeulen paces the Crimson and the Ivy League with
46 goals and 54 points. Melanie Baskind leads the team and is
second in the Ancient Eight in ground balls (35) and caused
turnovers (23) and is second in scoring with 22 goals and six
assists. Sara Flood has a team-high 10 assists. Micaela Cyr has won
a team-high 28 draw controls each.

In the net, Katherine Martino sports a 9.91 goals-against
average and has made 67 saves. She sports 5-4 record.

Scouting the Lions
Columbia (6-7, 0-6 Ivy) has won two of its last three games
entering the weekend. The Lions leads the league in draw controls
with 12.92 per game.

Brittany Shannon paces the Lions offense with 42 goals and 28
points, while Kacie Johnson has assisted on 17 goals and scored 28
herself for 45 team points. Taylor Gattinella has scooped up a
team-best 37 ground balls, while Olivia Mann has won a team-high 38
draw controls. Amanda Goodhart leads the way in caused turnovers
with 22.

Karlee Blank sports an 11.3 goals-against average and has made
117 saves this season.

The Series
Harvard is 10-2 against Columbia since the series started in 1998.
Despite the overall dominance in the series, the Crimson and Lions
have played several close games recently. In 2006, the Crimson
earned a 13-12 win and then in 2007, Harvard picked up a 14-12
victory. Last year, the Lions walked away with an 11-10 victory.

She’s Honored
Jennifer VanderMeulen was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the
Week and WomensLax.com Rookie of the Week for her performance in
games against Holy Cross and Princeton last week. VanderMeulen
scored six goals and had two assists in Harvard’s 15-9 win
over Holy Cross last Wednesday. She scored a hat trick, won two
draw controls and collected a ground ball in a win over Princeton
despite being double and triple teamed all day.

Game-by-Game Jennifer VanderMeulen has scored in all 13 games this
season. She has three or more goals in nine contests, has scored a
career-high six goals twice and has four or more points in a game
eight times. Melanie Baskind has found the back of the net in nine
consecutive games, while Danielle Tretreault has scored in eight
straight.

Nationally Speaking Entering the week, Jennifer VanderMeulen is fourth in the
nation in goals per game (3.67), while her 44 goals stand 17th
among Division I players. She is also 17th in points per game
(4.33). Melanie Baskind is 20th in ground balls per game (2.83) and
24th in caused turnovers per game (1.83), while Katherine Martino
is 31st in goals-against average (9.8).

Up Next
If Harvard makes the Ivy League Tournament, it will be held April
30 and May 2 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Semifinal games
will be played at 5 and 8 p.m. The winner of the Ivy Tournament
will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA
tournament.

Harvard’s next scheduled game is May 5 at home against
Boston College. It will be senior night for Sara Flood, Katherine
Martino and Delia Pais. First draw is slated for 7 p.m.